News Releases

Ashtabula and Geauga Counties Release Results of Community Needs Assessments

Ashtabula and Geauga county hospitals and community service organizations now have access to a wealth of current information about their counties’ health needs. On Wednesday, April 18, both counties held public events to release the findings of their community health needs assessments that were nearly a year in the making. Both counties conducted adult (19-years of age or older) and youth (6th through 12th graders) surveys. In addition, Geauga County conducted a child survey (0 to 11 years of age) and a survey of students at Kent State University, Geauga Campus. With this data complement, Geauga is one of the only counties in the state to have cradle-to-grave data.

Both counties examined a wide range of data and compared it to state and national statistics in areas such as health perceptions, healthcare access, cardiovascular health, adult and youth tobacco use, adult and youth sexual behavior, mental health, youth safety and oral health. Though dozens of data points were discussed in detail at each event, there were a few particulars findings from each county that captured the attention of the audience.

Ashtabula

• The percentage of women over 40 who had received a mammogram in the past two years in Ashtabula County (69 percent) was low compared to Ohio (74 percent) and the United States (76 percent).
• When sick or needing health advice, 16 percent of adults surveyed went to the emergency department.
• Of the youth who were sexually active, a relatively high number used some form of birth control. Use of birth control pills by sexually active youth, for instance, was more than double both statewide and nationwide use.

Geauga

• A high percentage of people leave Geauga County for primary care (38 percent) and dental care (38 percent).
• A high percentage of youth texted (58 percent) or talked on the cell phone (68 percent) while driving.
• A low proportion of children (35 percent) are read to everyday in comparison to the state (50 percent).

Both of these projects, as well as efforts currently underway in Lorain, Medina and Cuyahoga counties, were initiated by The Center for Health Affairs as part of an effort to conduct overlapping needs assessments that would serve to meet requirements of the Affordable Care Act while also providing county-by-county and regional overviews of health needs. The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio was engaged by The Center to conduct the work in conjunction with stakeholder groups from each county to complete these assessments.

For additional information on The Center’s health needs assessment project contact Deanna Moore at 216.255.3614 or deanna.moore@chanet.org.